Therapist, Collagues, But Not Friends
by SassyRaydorGirl
Summary: Bedelia Du Maurier comes through for her colleague, during a difficult situation. Warning Mpreg
**Therapist, Colleagues, But Not Friends**

 **Hannigram**

 **Chapter 1**

…

Bedelia sat across from her patient, the man who'd held the same appointment for the last 10 years. She looked at her watch, 20 minutes already in to their session and he was yet to say anything as he stared at his hands.

"Hannibal…are you planning on speaking today?"

"What…I…"

"Are you…still having nightmares?"

"Some, they're not as frequent as before."

"Don't you think it's time you told Will about your insecurities?"

"They'll pass."

"Hannibal…you're in to your 6th month, you're having fears about becoming a father for the first time…which is a completely natural feeling that most first time parents have. You have nothing to feel ashamed off and you certainly shouldn't feel like you have to hide your feelings from the one person who can help you though it."

"I've always been the strong one; vulnerability isn't one of my traits."

"Pregnancy changes a person, you're experiencing a lot of hormones that you have difficulty expressing to others."

"I don't want him to think less of me."

"You and Will have been through a lot together over the years and a select few have been fortunate to witness that, myself included. It hasn't always been easy but you made, as your therapist, I think you ought to talk to Will about your fears."

"And as a friend?"

"Hannibal…I've told you before, we are not friends. I am your therapist and I am your colleague and as both I urge you to tell him. I witnessed many first time parents deal with these fears; you are not the first I assure you."

"You trained as a midwife?"

"No, it was part of my rotation when I was a resident, it wasn't for me. I found the mind much more interesting than the human body."

"I'll talk to him tonight."

"You'll feel a lot better for doing it, trust me."

…

Will looked up from the book he'd been reading when he heard the front door closing.

"Hannibal?"

"Yes it's me Will."

"Where have you been, your session ended 3 hours ago."

Hannibal walked in to the front room, placing his jacket on the chair by the door before coming to sit down beside Will, who had turned to him.

"You okay? Hannibal…"

"I'm perfectly fine Will."

"You don't sound fine."

Will moved closer, placing his hand the swell of Hannibal's stomach.

"Is the baby okay?"

"The baby's alright."

"Then tell me what's going on, I'm not blind. I know you've been a little apprehensive about the baby since we found out you were pregnant but…"

"You knew?"

"What is it?"

"It's just me being ridiculous."

"I don't believe you could ever be ridiculous…what's been bothering you."

"I'm scared Will…I'm scared that I won't be the kind of father this child needs me to be."

Will gave a long sigh as he ran a hand over his face before taking a hold of Hannibal's hand.

"Hannibal…you are, an amazing man and you're gonna be an amazing father. I get that you're scared, I'm scared too…neither of us know what we're doing but you learn along the way and it's not as though you'll be on your own, we'll be learning together."

"I'm a therapist; you would think I'd be able to deal with my feelings, the fears I have."

"Hey, you're human like the rest of us. You won't be on your own through this, I promise."

Hannibal closed his eyes briefly before Will leaned in, covering the older mans lips.

"I won't let you go through this alone, I love you Hannibal."

"I love you too Will."

…

 _ **4 months later**_

…

Will stirred from his sleep when he heard movement in the en suite; he turned to see Hannibal's side of the bed empty. He pulled back the covers and made his way to the door, ready to walk in but stopped when he heard the low moans coming from the other side of the door.

"Hannibal…are you okay in there."

When Will didn't receive a reply, he opened the door gently to see his partner kneeling by the bath tub, a hand holding his stomach as a pained expression crossed his features. Will was at his side in an instant, his hand around his shoulders as Hannibal leaned in to his touch.

"Jesus Hannibal, when did your contractions start?"

"They became worse about 3 hours ago."

"Became? How long has it been since the contractions actually began?"

"Around 7 o'clock."

"Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"They weren't that bad, I was managing the pain."

"Okay we need to get you to the hospital now."

"There's no time Will."

"What."

"She's…she's not waiting Will, I can feel her moving."

"Oh shit, okay what do I do…"

"You need to phone Ally."

"The midwife, right…of course."

"Okay, just relax okay."

"My back….it's…"

Hannibal was cut short as a contraction his, forcing him to cry out as he tried to breath.

"Okay, I'm gonna run a bath, it will help with the pain."

Will managed to get Hannibal sitting while he ran a bath and went to phone Ally. The water was rising, Hannibal managed to move to turn of the tap and he slowly began to undress. He just managed to removed his trousers when he felt a sudden burst only to look down to see water at his feet.

"Oh god."

He managed to get himself in to the tub, leaning his arms on the side, the pain lessening in his back as the warm water cascaded over him. When Will walked back in he stopped when he saw the water on the floor.

"Hannibal…"

"I'm sorry Will, but our daughter isn't waiting now…my waters broke."

"We have another problem."

Hannibal looked up at his husband to see worry on his face.

"Will?"

"Ally's out on another call, it's gonna be an hour or so before she can get here."

"Will no…she…arrrgh."

Will watched as Hannibal's eyes closed tightly, his whole body moving as he let out a loud groan.

"Oh my god, are you pushing."

"Will, she's coming and she's coming before Ally can get here."

"Well what do we do, Hannibal I don't know the first thing about delivering babies."

They sat silently for a few moments; Hannibal began pushing again on the next contraction.

"Bedelia…." Hannibal spoke.

"What?"

"Bedelia…she did her midwife rotation when she was a resident."

"Your therapist?"

"I really don't think we have any other options right now Will."

"Okay, is she in your phone?"

Hannibal could only nod his head as he got ready to push again. Will ran for Hannibal's phone and quickly found Bedelia's name in his contacts.

…

Turning over in bed, she groaned when she heard her mobile ring on the bedside table. She lifted herself up on her arm and looked at the caller id to see Hannibal's name. She was about to ignore it but it was very rare for him to call at 1am in the morning.

"Hannibal…what is the meaning off…"

"Doc, it's Will Graham."

"Will…how did…"

"Please I need your help."

Bedelia sat up and listened as Will explained their current situation, it had been years since she'd delivered a baby and Hannibal was a colleague, not a friend yet something in Will's voice and the cry she heard in the background from Hannibal brought her to her senses.

"Will, I'm on my way."

"Oh my god, thank you so much."

Will turned back to see fear in Hannibal's eyes.

"Will."

"It's okay, everything's gonna be okay. She's on her way; just hang on for me okay. Can you do that?"

Will was doing all he could for Hannibal as he pushed through each contraction, his grip on Will's hand getting stronger. Will was on his feet when he heard the front door, rushing down to see Bedelia on the other side.

"Doc, thanks so much for doing this."

"Where is he?"

"In the bath, his back was killing him. It seems to be helping him."

"Right, I need you to get me a basin of water, disinfectant and Hannibal's medical bag. Bring it up…quickly."

When Bedelia walked in to the bathroom, she tried to keep her expression neutral, but seeing her colleague in such pain and wearing nothing was a shock. Hannibal looked up, his eyes locking with hers before he pushed through another contraction. Bedelia took of her jacket and rolled up her sleeves before kneeling down in front of him.

"Okay Hannibal, I need you to lean back for me."

"She's coming fast…"

"It's okay; everything's going to be fine."

"I'm sorry I had to call you."

"Let's not talk about that right now, Hannibal I'm going to need to see what's happening…can I…."

"Of course, modesty is the least of my worries right now."

Hannibal leaned back against the coolness of the tub as Bedelia's hands disappeared under the water, Will came in with the back and basin just in time to see Hannibal pushing against Bedelia's hands.

"Hannibal…"

"Will…it really hurts."

"I'm here, I'm right here."

Will came and took tight hold of his hand, both men looking at Bedelia as she concentrated on the task at hand.

"Okay Hannibal, I can feel your daughters head, it won't be much longer now."

"It's happening so fast."

"Sometimes fast is good." She said, smiling at him.

Hannibal couldn't remember seeing her smile before, something he wished she did more often.

"Oh god, it's coming again." He groaned.

"Hannibal, take a deep breath and push for me."

He did as she instructed, a burning sensation taking over him. He let out a loud cry as the burning became almost unbearable.

"Is it meant to burn like this…"

"It's completely normal Hannibal, okay…Hannibal stop…don't push."

"No I have too."

"No…listen to me, I need you to try very hard for me and breath through the contraction…don't push."

Hannibal was having trouble as he tried not to push, looking between Bedelia and Will.

"I can't, I can…I have to pu…"

"Hannibal no, look at me…look in my eyes." Will ordered.

"Will I…"

"You can do this…breath, just copy what I'm doing, keep your eyes on me."

Hannibal kept himself focused on Will as he copied Will's breathing motions. Hannibal gasped suddenly as the baby's head moved.

"Okay, that's it…you did it, the heads out. Give me your hand." Bedelia took hold of Hannibal's hand and guided him down to his daughters head. Will watched as Hannibal's eyes went wide before looking at Will.

"Will I feel her, I'm holding her."

"That's great Hannibal." Will said, kissing him.

Hannibal cried as he experienced the moment, before he was brought back to reality as a strong contraction racked his body.

"Okay Hannibal, keep you hand on your baby's head, you're going to deliver your daughter okay." Bedelia instructed.

Hannibal pushed on her instructions, once, twice, three times before he felt their daughter slide from his body. He bent down and took h=their daughter in both hands before bringing her up from the water, and laying her on his chest. Bedelia moved up, checking her airways as the little girl let out a strangled cry.

Both men couldn't take their eyes off her as she cried and cried, Hannibal joining her.

"Congratulations gentlemen, you did very good Hannibal. Will, would you like to do the honours." Bedelia asked, handing him the scissors.

Will moved and took the scissors from her and cut where she instructed him before joining his husband.

"I'll give you a few moments and then we should get you both cleaned up."

…

Half an hour later Hannibal was propped up in bed, holding their daughter, as Ally, who had finally arrived, doubled checked to make sure everything was alright.

"Miss Du Maurier…you did an excellent job here this evening, I'm glad they weren't on their own."

"It was the least I could do for him."

Will spent a few moments with Ally while Bedelia sat on the edge of the bed with Hannibal as he took in the sight of his new daughter.

"Bedelia thank you for what you did for us this evening."

"Well I couldn't very well leave you to handle all of this on your own, could I. Did you ever tell Will, about your nightmares?"

"I did, I told him that day after our session."

"Are you glad you did?"

"I am, it turned out he was feeling the same way, just like you said."

"I'm glad you told him."

"I can't thank you enough for tonight, you didn't have to do it…not for a colleague."

Bedelia smiled as she watched Hannibal with his daughter. "No, for a friend."

…

-Fin


End file.
